Sometimes the biggest change isn't the font. It's how a child experiences reading.
Quite a few parents ask me about dyslexia-friendly fonts.
They've often read that changing the font might make reading easier, and they're wondering if it's something they should try.
I think it's a really good question.
And before I say anything else, if your child has found a font that feels more comfortable, that's wonderful.
Anything that helps a child feel more confident with reading is worth celebrating.
But I've noticed something...
Over the years, I've worked with many children who find reading confusing or overwhelming.
Some do seem to prefer one font over another.
Others don't notice much difference at all.
That made me stop and think.
Is it really the font that's helping?
Or is something else happening?
Looking Beyond the Page
One of the things we spend a lot of time doing at Growing Choices is helping children become oriented.
It's one of the foundations of the Davis Method, and although it sounds quite simple, I've seen it make an enormous difference.
When a child is oriented, they become more settled.
Their thinking becomes clearer. Their brain sees accurately. Confusion reduced.
They can stay with what they're looking at instead of feeling as though everything is moving around or becoming confusing and hard to read.
That's when something quite lovely often happens.
The Book Hasn't Changed
I remember holding up a book after a child had learnt Orientation.
It was the very same book.
The same page.
The same words.
The same font.
Nothing had changed.
Except the child.
They looked at the page, smiled, and realised they could stay with the words - see them clearly.
That always fascinates me.
Because perhaps the biggest change wasn't on the page at all.
Perhaps the biggest change happened inside the child.
It's Not Really About the Font
Sometimes we spend a lot of energy changing everything around the child.
The font.
The colour of the paper.
The size of the writing.
The lighting.
Those things can certainly make reading feel more comfortable, and there's nothing wrong with that.
But I don't think they're the whole story.
If a child is becoming disoriented while reading, changing the font alone won't help them understand what's happening.
What I've found is that when children become oriented, they often discover they can see and therefore read many different fonts much more comfortably.
Not because the words have changed.
But because they have an orientation focus tool that works.
Helping Children Understand Themselves
One of the things I love most about the Davis® Method is that it isn't about trying to make every book perfect.
It's about helping children understand how they experience learning.
When children understand themselves, how they learn, how to focus - something begins to shift.
Reading feels calmer.
Confidence grows.
Learning becomes less exhausting.
And perhaps most importantly, they begin to realise there isn't something wrong with them.
They simply learn in a different way, and with the use of Orientation focus tools and strategies, things become 'easeful' and 'do-able'. Confidence builds.
A Different Question
So maybe the question isn't,
"Which font is best for my child?"
Maybe the better question is,
"What does my child need to feel calm, connected and confident when they read?"
For me, that's where real learning begins.
Because when we understand the child, we can begin to support them in ways that last far beyond one font or one book.
A Gentle Invitation
If your child finds reading confusing, tiring, or overwhelming, it may not simply be about the words on the page.
Sometimes the first step is understanding how your child experiences reading.
At Growing Choices, we believe every child is capable of learning. Sometimes they simply need a different way in.
A Learning Clarity Call is a gentle opportunity to explore your child's strengths, understand how they experience learning, and discover practical ways to support them with confidence.
